Beet topper and digger.



W. H. WILLIAMS.

BEET TOPPER AND DIGGER.

APPLICATION FIILED NOV- 3. 1915.

Patented N 0V. 1 1, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR. fl ill/ams W. H. WILLIAMS.

BEET TOPPER AND BIGGER. 7

APPLICATION FILED NOV-3,1915- 1 04,627. Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- W. H. WILLIAMS.

BEET TOPPER AND DIGGER.

APPLICATXON FILED NOV-3,1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- INVENTOR. 55 3 WH/M/fima A4 1 K WM 1 y Q .uif

ATTORNEY.

' WITNESSES.-

WILLIAM H. WILLIAMS, OF MITCHELL, NEBRASKA.

BEE! 'rorrna am) nreenn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

' Application filed November 8, 1915. Serial No. 59,889.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WIL- LIAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at .Mitchell, in the county of Scotts Bluff and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beet Toppers and Diggers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to, improvements in beet harvesters and its primary object resides in providing a beet harvesting machine of simple, durable and practical construction including a novel contrivance for severing the tops of beets before they are lifted out of the soil, in association with improved means for removing the severed beet tops to a side of the machine, and an adjustable transmission mechanism for the operation of the said means by the rotary movement of an axle upon which the body of the machine is supported. The above and other objects all of which will fully appear in the course of the following description, I attain 1 by the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings in the various views of which like parts are similarly designated, and in which,

. Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved beet harvestingmachine, Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same, Fig. 3, a transverse section taken along the line 33, Fig. 2, Fig. 4, an enlarged sectional view of the parts of the transmission mechanism mounted upon an axle of the machine, and Fig. 5, a fragmentary side view of the meansfor transmitting the rotary movement of the above mentioned axle to' the beet elevator which bers of the carrier are connected by two up-' right cross frames 8 and 9 from whichthe operating iarts of the machine are suspended. T 0 cross frame 8 adjacentthe front end of the machine supports'the drivers seat 10, and in bearings on its upright members, a crank shaft 12 from which the topping appliance hereinafter to be descri ed is operatively suspended. The crank shaft which in the operation serves to vary the distance of the topping appliance above the surface of the ound has at one of its ends an arm 13 w ich by means of a rod 14 is connected with an operating lever 15 mounted at the front end of the frame within reach of a person occupying the drivers seat.

The topping element hereinbefore referred to, comprises a frame or hanger 16 composed of a yoke 17, formed integrally with a centrally extending, longitudinally slotted shank 19 for the rotary support of a roller 18. The hanger is by means of its slotted shank suspended for up and downward movement from the crank on the shaft 12 at a distance above the surface of the ground, which may be varied by adjustment of the lever'15. A bar 20 upon which the cutting elements which 'in the operation sever the tops of the beets, are mounted, has

a pair of parallel arms 21 by means of which it is secured to the hanger beneath the roller 18. Bolts 22 which secure the arms 21 of the bar to the hanger, extend through longitudinal slots in the parallel members of the oke 17 thereby permitting of adjustment 0 the bar 20 to vary the distance betweenthe cutting element carried thereon and the peripheral surface of the roller. Links 23 connecting the arms 21 to the side beams of the carrier frame 2, maintain the topping appliance suspended from the crank shaft 12, against lateral displacement without interfering with its u and downward motion while in the operatlon of the machine the roller rises or falls by contact with the beet tops, or when the crank shaft is partially rotated by adjustment of the lever 15.

The topping element hereinbefore re- I ferred to, consists of two peripherially sharpened, lapping disks 24 which are rotatablysupported on the bar 20. The periplieral cutting edges'of the knives intersect in a plane with the longitudinal axis of the machine to simultaneously enga e the beets in a row over which the machine is propelled.

Pivotally suspended from the'axle3 between the side members of the frame 2 and rearward. of the topping appliance, is a supplemental frame 25 which supports a conveyer tops, a pair of plow shares-27 which lift the beet roots out of the ground. and an elevator 28 which carries the roots to a point of disrearward of the roller 18. A shaft 32 upon which one of the sprocket wheels of the conveyer is secured, is mounted in a bearing on the bracket 31 and in a bearing 33 on the supplemental frame, and it carries at its rearward end a beveled pinion 34 which meshes with a beveled gear-.wheel 35 on the driving axle 3 of the machine. The gear wheel is loosely mounted on the axle in rigid connection with a sprocket wheel 36 which transmits the rotary motion of the axle to the elevator 28 as will hereinafter be more fully described. A second beveled gearwheel 37 is slidably mounted upon the axle at the opposite side of the pinion, a feather 38 being provided to compel the wheel to rotate in conjunction with theaxle. The sliding gear-wheel 37 has in its hub a circumferential groove to receive the rearward extremity of a lever 39 by means of which it is moved along the axle in and' out of engagement with the pinion. The lever is fulcrumed upon the cross frame 9 and extends in adjacency to the drivers seat. The plow shares 27 which are spaced laterally at opposite sides of the vertical plane of the longitudinal axis of the machine, rearward of the topping appliance, are secured at the lower end of braced arms 40 rigidly secured to the pivoted frame 25 which by means of a pitman 41 is suspended from the crank on a shaft 42 rotatably mounted in hearings on the upright members of the cross-frame 9. The shaft 42 has at one of its extremities, an angularly bent arm 43 which by means of a rod 44 is connected with an adjusting lever. 45 mounted at the front end of th;

which the shaft may be rotated for the purpose of elevating or lowering the front end of the pivoted frame.

The elevator 28 which conveys the beet roots lifted by action of the plow shares to a'point of discharge above the bin 29, consists of an endless .chain provided with prongs to engage the beets. The chain is carried upon sprocket'wheels which are rotatably mounted at the upper and lower ends of a slanting guide way composed of two laterally flaring plates 46 which are secured at their lower ends to the arms 40 of the plows 27 and at their opposite ends upon the forward edge of the bin 29.

The elevator is operated by rotation of the driving axle a the machine is being propelled along the ground, throu h the intermediary of a countershaft 4 which by means of two sprocket chains 48 and 49 is operatively connected with the before-mentioned sprocket wheel 36 on the axle and with a sprocket wheel 50 on the shaft upon which the upper supporting wheel of the elevator is mounted.

The bin has for the discharge of its contents a hinged doon 51 which is connected with a bent arm 54' on a rod 52 rotatably mounted in bearings on the side of the bin and the cross frame 8 at the front end of the machine at which point it has a handle 53 bent oppositely with relatidn to the arm 54. The door 51 closes by gravity and may be opened by manipulation of the rod 52 by the driver of the machine. occupying the seat 10. s

In operation the machine is by draft animals hitched to the swiveled truck at the front or the carrier, propelled over the rows of. beets so that its longitudinal axis is directly above the same. The knife bar 20 has previously been spaced from the circumferential surface of the roller at a distance which determines the point at whichthe exposed tops of the beets are to be severed from the roots. By partial rotation of the crank shaft 12, the topping appliance is raised or lowered in accordance" with the average height at which the beets project above the ground, and by a similar adjustment of the crank shaft 42 the pivoted frame is lowered to compel the plow shares to enter the ground. Now, when the carrier is being drawn along a row of beets and the operating parts'of the machine are placed in active condition by adjustment of the beveled gear 37 along the driving axle 3, the

roller 18 riding over the 'tops of the beets, compels the topping knife to rise and fall in correspondence with the difi'erent heights of the beets above the surface of the ground.

While the roller rides over the tops of the beets the knives engaging the exposed portions of the roots of the same at opposite sides "of the point of intersection of their cutting edges, sever the beet tops which moving rearwardly upon the upper surfaces of the rotating knives, are caught by the prongs on the chain 30 and removed to a point of discharge at a side of the machine. The beet roots after their tops have been severed, are lifted out of the ground by the plow shares and conveyed into the bin 29 by the elevator 28. v

The adjnsments of the topping element door of the bin to discharge the contents thereof at any desired point.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. In a beet harvester, the combination with a carrier, of an appliance for topping beets in the ground along which the carrier is propelled, comprising a frame mounted on the carrier for up and downward movement. a roller on the frame to engage the beet tops, a bar beneath the roller adjustably attached to the frame, and a pair of lapping, circular cutting-members rotatably mounted on the bar to sever the tops of beets the roller engages.

2. In a beet harvester, the combination with a carrier, of an appliance for topping beets in the ground along which the carrier is propelled, comprising a crank-shaft on the carrier, means for varying the position of the crank by rotation of the shaft, a frame suspended from the shaft-crank, a roller on the frame to engage the beet-tops, and a cut-ting element mounted on the frame beneath the roller to sever the tops of beets the latter engages.

3. In a beet harvester, the combination with a. carrier, of an appliance for topping beets in the ground along which the carrier is propelled, comprising a crank-shaft on the carrier, means for varying the position of the crank by rotation of the shaft, a frame suspended from the shaft-crank, free for up and downward motion, a roller on the frame to engage the beet-tops, and a cutting element mounted on the frame beneath the roller to sever the tops'of beets the latter engages.

4. In a beet harvester, the combination 'with a carrier, of a beet topping appliance,

a top-conveyer, a beet-digging devlce, a beet-conveyer, and means for the simultaneous operation of the two conveyers by movement of the carrier, comprisinga beveled gear loose on an axle of the carrier, means for transmitting the rotary movement of said gear to the beet-conveyer, a beveled pinion meshing with said gear in operative connection with the top-conveyer, and a gear mounted to rotate in conjunction with the axle and slidable to engage said pinion.

5. In a beet harvester, the combination with a carrier, of an appliance for topping beets in the ground along which the carrier is propelled, comprising a frame vertically adjustably mounted on the carrier, free for up and downward motion, a beet-engaging element on said frame, a cutting element .mounted on the frame beneath the first- 

